Professional Experience
Rick has eighteen years of health care experience with an extensive background in revenue enhancement related to federal and state regulatory programs. Prior to the formation of Comprehensive Reimbursement, Inc., Rick served as a Manager in a “Big Four” Health Care Advisory Services practice for nine years. Rick has prepared and reviewed numerous cost reports that ranged from small rural to large urban teaching hospitals with all Medicare add-on and pass-through payment components. On average Rick prepared or reviewed over fifty cost reports on an annual basis.

In addition, while a manager at a “Big Four” firm, Rick was one of the lead presenters for the HFMA class entitled “Charting Your Way Through the Medicare Cost Report. Rick has extensive experience related to contractual/third party settlement reviews and wage index/occupational mix reviews. Rick has been heavily involved in area wage index reviews and occupational mix reviews for several years and was on the national wage index team at a “Big Four” firm. Rick was also a supervisor at two Medicare Intermediaries where he was responsible for Medicare costs report audits for the remaining nine years of work experience.

While working for a “Big Four” Rick was an engagement manager on a multi-hospital system cost report preparation and review project. The hospital system consisted of rural community based hospitals, critical access hospitals, urban hospitals, and large teaching hospitals. The cost report reviews required detailed analyses of the variables impacting the cost to charge ratios. The analyses were performed to provide the system with some assurance as to the compliance of the cost to charge ratios which would be used in various cost reimbursement areas as well as cost outlier reimbursement. The reviews also provided assurance reimbursement opportunities were not being missed due to inappropriate cost to charge mapping. The analyses covered areas such as: a detailed review of revenue mappings and cost center groupings, overhead allocations and appropriate statistical basis, detailed general ledger review for cost adjustments and revenue offsets, and a review of cost reclassifications. The objective of this part of engagement was to ensure proper cost to charge matching and compliance with cost reporting regulations as it pertains to those specific areas. In addition, for some providers within the system, there is still cost-based State Medicaid reimbursement and a State based Disproportionate Share program based on the cost to charge ratios.

Jerrod Miller
Jerrod Miller is a Partner with Comprehensive Reimbursement, Inc., and has seventeen years of hospital and advisory experience. Jerrod served as a Senior Manager for Ernst & Young’s Health Science Advisory Practice for seven years prior to starting CRI. He has served clients on a wide range of engagements of varying sizes involving Medicare cost reporting and reimbursement as well as financial analysis and third party settlement reviews. Prior to Ernst & Young, Jerrod spent seven years with a hospital system in Western Ohio where he was an accounting manager. Jerrod’s advisory and hospital accounting manager background allow him to understand the inner workings of the hospital accounting environment and its relationship to Medicare and Medicaid program payments.

Professional Experience
Jerrod has prepared numerous Medicare cost reports for Hospital providers with Sub-providers, Home Health agencies, regional and corporate home offices, Allied Health programs and Interns and Residents. He also has provided a variety of specialized services relating to Medicare cost reporting such as wage index data reviews, critical access cost-based reviews, bad debt assessments, third party settlement calculations, disproportionate share and Medicaid eligibility reporting and Post-acute DRG Transfer analysis.

Lisa Sullivan
Lisa is a Senior Manager with Comprehensive Reimbursement, Inc. with over 24 years of healthcare experience. Prior work experience includes over ten years at a Big Four firm as a professional in the Regulatory service line specializing in Medicare reimbursement and Revenue Management. Lisa also has 12 years of experience as a reimbursement analyst for a 500 bed, two-hospital system with a Medical Education program.

Professional Experience

Lisa’s experience in Revenue Management includes:

• Performing agreed upon procedures for the Ohio’s charity care (HCAP) program which includes reviewing provider patient logs and supporting applications/documentation, and process reviews
• Business Office redesign to improve operational process flows and efficiencies; includes cash acceleration efforts to collect on aging patient accounts
• Billing Controls analysis to measure hospital practices to best industry practices; includes all functional areas within the revenue cycle
• Performing analysis of claim submission and reimbursement process, and the appropriate use of revenue codes and modifiers
• Resource Based Pricing analysis, specifically in Surgical Services areas to establish pricing rational
• Facilitation of discussions regarding Medicare billing and charge capture opportunities

Lisa has an extensive background in healthcare reimbursement including:

• Third-party reimbursement engagements for healthcare systems, hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies, including preparation and review of Medicare and Ohio Medicaid Cost Reports
• Medicare bad debt prospective reviews and assistance with compilation of Medicare bad debt patient logs. Providing guidance regarding interpretation of Medicare regulations and patient accounting practices
• Audits of provider Medicare bad debt logs to verify collection efforts and compliance to regulations
• Wage index engagements which includes preparing and/or reviewing cost report and payroll data, and conducting provider interviews
• Financial impact analysis of reimbursement resulting from regulatory changes

Steve Ittel
Steve Ittel is a Manger with Comprehensive Reimbursement, Inc. which specializes in providing regulatory and financial expertise to acute-care health providers. Steve has served clients on a wide range of engagements of varying sizes involving Medicare cost reporting and reimbursement as well as financial analysis and third party settlement reviews.

Professional Experience
Steve has twelve years of hospital and advisory experience.  He spent the first two years of his career working on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, budgeting and data analysis. He then went to an insurance company and became part of the data warehousing team. From there his career took him to a Big Four accounting firm where he started as a staff consultant and was eventually promoted to a manager. While at the accounting firm Steve was an integral member in the start up of the Disproportionate Share service line, Medicare Bad Debt service line and the Wage Index service line. 

Steve has prepared numerous Medicare cost reports for Hospital providers with Sub-providers, Home Health agencies, regional and corporate home offices, Allied Health programs and Interns and Residents. He also has provided a variety of specialized services relating to Medicare cost reporting such as wage index data reviews, disproportionate share and Medicaid eligibility reporting and Post-acute DRG Transfer analysis.

Matt McCord
Matt is a Staff professional with Comprehensive Reimbursement, Inc. Matt joined the CRI team in June of 2008 with a B.S. in Finance from Ohio University. Matt has been involved in a wide range of projects for CRI including Medicare / Medicaid cost reporting, HCAP Agreed Upon Procedure Reporting, Wage Index data reviews, and most recently Matt has been specializing in Medicare bad debt projects.